Driver assistance systems which operate on the basis of lane information are known in the related art. An example of such a driver assistance system is a warning system which warns the driver upon departure from the lane and/or imminent departure from the lane. A system of this type is described, for example, in European Patent Application No. EP 1074430, in which the roadway (lane) on which the vehicle is moving is ascertained using image sensor systems and the driver is warned when the vehicle departs or threatens to depart from this lane. Furthermore, German Patent Application Nos. DE 103 11 518 and DE 102 38 215 describe driver assistance systems of this type. In these cases, image sensor systems which are installed in the vehicle and record the scene in front of the vehicle are used to detect the lane. The parameters of the lane and thus the lane itself are ascertained from the recorded images of the lane edge markings. Ascertaining the lane is essentially a function of the quality of the lane edge markings.
An example of recognizing and modeling lane edge markings from video images is known from German Patent Application No. DE 196 27 938, roadway width, roadway curvature, curvature change, and lateral offset of the vehicle, inter alia, being ascertained as parameters.